Shortly after the deal is struck and the beer is drank in that ancient rite of contract sealing, the meals arrive. The ingredients are good quality and well-prepared, and the Johnson orders additional pitchers of beer, as well as additional bottles of water. It seems as though she'd like to keep the team in high spirits while minimizing the chance that she will need to repeat herself. During the course of the meal, and in between rapturous bites of her steak, the Johnson paints the broad strokes of the job.
"As was said before, we're looking at four targets," she begins, pulling up a picture on the trid projector in the center of the table. Rachel notes a commlink coming online. "Kenta Minami: thirty-three-years-old, an orphan whose adopted surnames means 'south.' He's been with the organization since he was a child, and has settled into a role as an enforcer. Not particularly bright or with what we would call equipped with a sense of business acumen, Minami's position of kyodai is largely a matter of deference to the years he's spent with the yakuza. Primary enforcement obligations reside in narcotics, chips, and protection, though he's a sometimes-driver for Noboru Oshiro, whom we will get to shortly.
Ms. Johnson gives the rest of the information on Minami in a clipped pace. One primary apartment in southeast downtown, and a room in a yakuza-fronted hotel. He typically makes rounds on Tuesdays and Thursdays, though if he needed in the service of Oshiro, he passes those duties to a junior shatei. Most of his activities are limited to the downtown area, but he keeps a steady girl in Wise, northwest of Fort Worth. The photos show a burly man with a scar running down the right side of face, leaving his right eye with a perpetual droopy look. A close-up shows that he's missing his right pinkie finger and the first knuckle of his right ring finger.
The next photo that comes up is of an older gentlemen, hair pulled back into a well-coiffed arch and still raven black. "Noboru Oshiro is wakagashira for southeast downtown Dallas and parts of Ennis. Stretches of his border lie against territory held by the Feathered, though there has been very little violence. Oshiro is first and foremost a businessman, but that has somewhat been tempered by a vindictive streak. He keeps three commlinks that we know about, as well as two penthouses around Dallas and a business suite at the Hotel Heron, where Minami also keeps his room. Oshiro's schedule is more erratic when he's out. He works primarily from his home office, and spends a good deal of his days at Cafe Tonkatsu, a restaurant where senior yakuza conduct business. He frequents a number of nightclubs around the metroplex, often utilizing VIP rooms, and keeps a driver and bodyguard with him when out.
"Takashi Sato is another wakagashira, though a relative newcomer to the post. He comes from a yakuza dynasty, but did not officially take part in family business until after attending university for Economics and Applied Biotechnology. He does not hold territory in the manner of most wakagashira, as his role is more in management and distribution. He manages three of the yakuza's five high-end bunraku parlors, and four of its casinos. He also oversees the distribution of most narcotics to the plex's various districts."
The trid projector displays four commcodes, various hotels, and a home address in Rockwall. From the photo, he looks youngish, perhaps mid-thirties with a ponytail and incisive eyes. Biographical information shows that he was born and raised in Dallas, attended prestigious schools, has a valid National SIN, and a clean driving record. Unmarried with a number of mistresses, Mr. Sato is known to avoid drugs himself, and assist that those in his employ do the same. He's an avid sportsmen who loves attending fights and has a large collection of stuffed para-critters which he sometimes hunts in north Texas. His usual security consists of a driver -- often a rotating position -- and what security is provided by the various hotels and casinos in which he's conducting his business. He has very few close associates.
"And last but not least, we are brought to Basho Tezuka. Tezuka holds the title of kyodai, but he is little more than a soldier. He was sent to the DFW about three years ago from Japan when it was hoped that the change in climate would have a palliative effect on his demeanor, or at least give him a good outlet for his natural proclivities. He's violent, erratic, and known to imagine or manufacture slights against him. He runs a gang, for lack of a better word, of young yakuza who enforce protection rackets and sell narcotics in southeast Fort Worth. He and a team of four other yakuza soldiers are the go-to hit squad for the Silver Blade, and we would prefer if the other four member of that team were left unmolested. He takes nearly every meal at the Spirits Club, and is known to spend any free evenings in the 'Gentlemen's club' on the third floor. We have one primary commcode for Mr. Tezuka, but he conducts the majority of his business with burner phones."
The picture of Tezuka is unsettling. His eyes are a little too-close together, and with a pinched nose, he has a vicious almost canine look. Splotchy facial hair, a close-cropped haircut, and cauliflower ears give him the impression of being every bit the brawler that Ms. Johnson describes.
"I'll give you a moment to peruse the information, and then I'm sure there will be questions," Ms. Johnson says at the end of her spiel.
<<Incoming Message
<<Recipients: Wraith, Hopeless, Phoenix, La Sombre
<<Sender: Ms. Johnson
<<Attachments:
<<Kenta Minami: Datapack
<<--Commcode
<<--Addresses: Apartment #, Hotel Heron #
<<--Personal Dossier
<<Noboru Oshiro: Datapack
<<--Commcode: 1, 2, 3
<<--Addresses: Dallas Penthouse #, Hotel Heron #
<<--Personal Dossier
<<Takashi Sato: Datapack
<<--Commcode: 1, 2
<<--Address: Rockwall, Thunder Plains Club, Downtown Lights, The Blue Door, Lady Luck, Samson's, Maneki-neko, Little Ume's
<<--Personal Dossier
<<Basho Tezuka: Datapack
<<--Commcode
<<--Address: Apartment #
<<--Personal Dossier
<<End Message
